HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-03-17-PB-FINALTOWN OF ULYSSES
PLANNING BOARD
MINUTES
March 17, 2015
Approved: April 7, 2015
Present: Chairperson John Wertis, Board Members: David Blake, Sarah Adams, David Diaz,
Andy Rice, board alternate Craig Salino; Environmental Planner Darby Kiley; Town Board
Liaison Richard Goldman
Members of the Public Present: Bill Davis, engineer from MRB Group.
Call to Order at: 6:54 p.m.
Privilege of the Floor: There were no public comments.
Mr. Wertis suggested and the board reached a consensus to move action of meeting minutes to
the end and begin the meeting by introducing Mr. Davis.
Introduction to Town Engineer - Bill Davis, MRB Group
Ms. Kiley prefaced the introduction by recapping the Town's process in selecting MRB Group as
its consulting engineering firm. The Town issued a Request for Proposals for engineering
services, and a committee consisting of Town Board and Planning Board members and Ms.
Kiley interviewed four firms. The committee selected and the Town Board approved the hiring
of MRB Group.
Mr. Davis explained that MRB is a municipal engineering group representing 100 municipalities
across New York. Employing 60, it is based in Rochester but has offices in Watertown, Saratoga
Springs and Elmira. Locally, MRB Group works with the Villages of Dryden and Trumansburg.
Mr. Davis is the lead engineer for the Village of Trumansburg's water and sewer projects, so he
is frequently in the area. He said he will likely be the main point of contact for the Town Board,
while a planner from MRB will be sitting in on Planning Board meetings. He told Planning
Board members to call MRB with any planning questions or concerns. He said MRB does not
charge a fee to attend municipal meetings.
Responding to a question from Ms. Adams on the scope of services, Ms. Kiley said steep slope
projects and subdivision plans would be the primary focuses of MRB Group's work with the
Planning Board. It would be nice have an engineer to advise on subdivisions and site plan
review. Mr. Davis said MRB Group would be there to assist with SEQR and site plan review and
any other zoning matters. Ms. Kiley will be MRB's point of contact with the Town.
Discussion of Solar and Wind Power Regulations
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March 17, 2015
Mr. Wertis circulated a handout with pictures of three residential ground -mounted solar panel
projects in the Town of Ulysses. He recalled reading that 85 percent of homes in the U.S. are not
suitable to have roof -mounted solar systems because of roof orientation, weight or other reasons.
Putting up a ground -mounted array in the Town requires a trip through the Town's Zoning
document, because the Zoning does not spell out solar as an allowed use.
Ms. Kiley explained that Town Zoning considers residential solar projects as accessory uses. Ms.
Adams said most residents would not be aware that solar projects may require zoning approval.
Mr. Blake said the responsibility to check that the project aligns with a municipality's Zoning
laws should fall to the company installing the panels.
After Mr. Wertis reviewed the Accessory Buildings section of Town Zoning, Ms. Adams said
there is nothing currently in Town Zoning that addresses solar panels.
Zoning does not apply to panels that are roof -mounted, however, a building permit is necessary.
In the past, a property owner proposed a ground -mounted solar array located on the property
line, but there are setback regulations. The Town received a variance request for that project a
couple of months ago. Ms. Kiley has fielded questions concerning commercial solar farms, but
the Town has yet to address commercial solar farms. A broader question Ms. Kiley has is how a
commercial solar farm connects to the electric grid. She called the town of Lansing concerning a
solar farm project planned near the Ithaca -Tompkins Regional Airport. She was told the farm
will be located in an industrial research area and is allowable. The Town of Ulysses does not
have an equivalent use in its Zoning. Cooperative Solar — multiple users sharing power from a
solar array — is another subject that the Planning Board may want to explore within the Zoning
law.
Mr. Wertis said he did not think the Planning Board was ready to talk about solar energy until it
gets more outside information on the subject. He suggested surveying other towns' Zoning laws
as well as exploring regulations related to cooperative solar.
Mr. Davis said MRB Group could bring in John Collins, a staff member that helped the towns of
Dix and Catlin with their wind law.
The Planning Board and Mr. Davis briefly discussed technical aspects of solar arrays, how power
is sold back to the grid and the regulations that are triggered once utilities become involved.
Mr. Blake suggested the Planning Board seek advice from Renovus.
On the subject of wind power, Mr. Wertis circulated the cover page of "Commercial Wind Farms
in Tompkins County: An Atlas to Support Decision -Making at the Local Level," a county
Planning document that identifies potential locations for wind -energy projects, among other
things. Ms. Adams said it may be useful to extract potential sites related to only the Town of
Ulysses.
Ms. Kiley circulated a report out of Cornell, "A Technical Analysis of Wind Power Potential in
Tompkins County, New York", which identifies potential sites for small-scale wind projects.
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March 17, 2015
Mr. Wertis asked what is meant by small-scale and requested further information of the full scale
of wind power.
Ms. Kiley said she keeps hearing that the Town needs wind regulations. Like solar power
projects, wind turbines are allowable as an accessory structure, but the property owner would
need a height variance. Enfield is getting a large commercial wind project, and it is unlikely
another project of that size would be proposed. She does not feel the Town needs to address large
wind projects within its Zoning since Ulysses does not have the wind capabilities to support one.
Mr. Diaz noted that technology is always improving. Ms. Kiley said improving technology is
something to keep in mind moving forward.
She continued by saying that she examined the Town of Ithaca's Wind law, which was adopted
in 2008 but has yet to be tested. No one has applied for a building permit for a residential wind
turbine. There are a couple residential turbines in the Town of Lansing.
Mr. Wertis asked about the process for sharing solar and wind energy resources and materials
among members of the Planning Board. Ms. Kiley said she could share them via email, set up a
Planning Board folder on the Town's intranet, or post materials on the Town's website. She
noted that some materials and reports are in excess of 80 pages.
Ms. Adams asked where solar and wind falls within the Planning Board's most recent work
addressing Zoning concerns. Mr. Wertis said he thinks Planning Board members are taking a
break from addressing revisions and updates for the time being. Ms. Adams asked specifically
about design guidelines.
Ms. Kiley explained that the NYSERDA grant will be used to update Town Zoning, a process
that is still months out. One area to address during that time is wind. She met with Mr. Wertis
last week to discuss possible areas, like wind power, to squeeze into Planning Board objectives
while the grant contract process is being finalized.
Ms. Adams said it might be useful to dedicate future meeting time to compiling Zoning matters
to include within the scope of work for the NYSERDA-grant-funded consultant. Then, by the
time the Town issues an RFP for a Zoning consultant, the Planning Board will have a good idea
of what Zoning concerns it would like to see addressed.
Ms. Kiley said that has already been included as part of the work plan sent to NYSERDA. She
would supply a copy of that work plan to the Planning Board.
Mr. Wertis said he was unclear as to what Ms. Adams would like the Planning Board to focus
on. Ms. Adams asked about design guidelines and whether or not the Planning Board would
want them. A lot of communities have them. Mr. Wertis said it would be helpful first to know
what adopting design guidelines would mean and how much work it would require. Ms. Adams
suggested examining other communities that have such guidelines and deciding if certain aspects
were favorable or not for the Town.
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March 17, 2015
Ms. Kiley said that would be a job for the zoning consultant the Town will eventually hire as part
of the NYSERDA grant. She does not want the Planning Board and the consultant to duplicate
efforts.
Mr. Davis said MRB Group could provide examples of design guidelines, also known as
development regulations, which define things like utilities and types of water and sewer mains.
The Hamlet district of Jacksonville was identified as an area that could use solid design
standards, Ms. Kiley said.
Ms. Adams said she wants to have a discussion if not about design guidelines then specific areas
like signage. She suggested the Planning Board compile a list that the consultant could then
reference during Zoning updates. The more input the Planning Board supplies the consultant, the
better the final product.
Mr. Wertis requested Ms. Adams begin such a list and bring it to the Planning Board for further
consideration.
Mr. Goldman asked about the timeline with the NYSERDA grant, to which Ms. Kiley said the
initial timetable was thrown out because it coincided with the Christmas holiday. NYSERDA
review times are often unrealistic. She will get an updated timeline from her NYSERDA contact.
Asked generally if wind power was something the Planning Board would like to address, board
members came to a consensus that it was a subject worth their time.
Minutes Review (3/3/15; 6/17/14; 7/15/14)
Mr. Wertis MADE the MOTION to accept the June 17, 2014 and July 15, 2014 meeting minutes,
and Mr. Blake SECONDED the MOTION. The vote was as follows:
Mr. Wertis AYE
Mr. Blake AYE
Ms. Adams AYE
Mr. Rice AYE
Mr. Diaz ABSTAINED
Result: June 17, 2014 and July 15, 2014 meeting minutes accepted.
The Planning Board discussed proposed amendments to the March 3, 2015 meeting minutes.
Mr. Blake MADE the MOTION to accept the amended March 3, 2015 meeting minutes, and Mr.
Rice SECONDED the MOTION. Ms. Adams recused herself from the vote, and Mr. Salino's
vote was taken as an alternate. The vote was as follows:
Mr. Wertis AYE
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March 17, 2015
Mr. Blake AYE
Mr. Salino AYE
Mr. Rice AYE
Mr. Diaz AYE
Result: March 3, 2015 meeting minutes accepted.
The Planning Board then discussed a possible policy to address the adoption of minutes for past
meetings in which current Board members had yet to be appointed to the Board. The suspension
of Robert's Rules of Order could be an option. Mr. Blake said it is unlikely that the Planning
Board would ever need such a policy. Ms. Kiley said recordings are made of each meeting, and
Board members who were not present could refer to the recording and still vote on minutes. Mr.
Wertis suggested the Planning Board iron out policy language for next meeting. Ms. Kiley said
the issue is something the Town Board needs to address as well, and more so, since the Town
Board has more turnover and new members are brought in at the start of the year. There could be
an instance where one or more new members are voting to accept minutes for a meeting in which
they did not attend. If the Planning Board chooses to develop a policy to address the issue, the
Board should pass it along to the full Town Board.
Mr. Blake MADE the MOTION to adjourn the meeting, and Mr. Diaz SECONDED the
MOTION. The vote was unanimous.
Meeting adjourned at 8:14 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by Louis A. DiPietro on March 19, 2015.